Surface preparation and grading machine including box planer assembly and grade/slope control mechanism therefor



Jan. 20, 1970 1 H s ET AL 3,490,539

SURFACE PREPARATION AND GRADING MACHINE INCLUDING BOX PLANER ASSEMBLYAND GRADE/SLOPE CONTROL MECHANISM THEREFOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July27, 1966 MARVIN L HHLMES HAROLD M. HILMES RONALD W. HILMES LOREN D.i-HLMES INVENTORS ATTORNE YS Jan. 20, 1970 H|LME$ ET AL 3,490,539

SURFACE PREPARATION AND GRADING MACHINE INCLUDING BOX PLANER ASSEMBLYAND GRADE/SLOPE CGNTROL MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed July 27, 1966 3Sheets5heet 2 MARVIN L4 HILMES HAROLD M. HILMES RONALD W. HILMES LOREND. HILMES Jan. 20, 1970 M. L. HILMES ET L 3,490,539

SURFACE PREPARATION AND GRADING MACHINE INCLUDING BOX PLANER ASSEMBLYAND GRADE/SLOPE CONTROL MECHANISM THEREFOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July27, 1966 FIG 4 Lil] FIG

MARVIN L. HILMES HAROLD M HI LMES RONALD W HlLMES LOREN D. HILMESFNVENTORS ATTORNEYS United States Patent U.S. CI. 172-45 17 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A surface finishing assembly for use on awheelmounted grading machine. The surface finishing assembly includes anopen-front box assembly having a planing blade secured to a rear portionthereof. An auger is dis-- posed forward of the planing blade and isreversible to distribute material accumulated in the box. A second augeris forward of the rear auger and removes excess material through anopening in the side of the box, which opening is controlled by anhydraulically operated gate. A forward blade is disposed at the forwardend of the box structure. The box structure is suspended from the frameof the carrying vehicle by two hydraulic rams disposed at either end ofthe rear of the box. Control means vertically adjust one of the rams tomaintain the blade at a predetermined grade datum as determined by areference wire placed alongside the surface to be graded. A controlmeans is also provided for maintaining the position of the other end ofthe blade at a predetermined transverse slope.

The present invention relates to earth surface preparation and gradingapparatus and more particularly to apparatus for planing anddistributing material, usually in a single pass, to prepare a finishedpad or surface to the precise grade and transverse slope. Such surfacesor pads are used as subgrades, finished road surfaces or surface padsfor the laying of ditches and the like. The present invention makes itunnecessary to rough grade with several passes of a scraper blade or thelike and then to finish by fine grading and spreading windrowed materialwith multiple passes which has heretofore been necessary. The presentinvention also provides precise control of the scraping and planingequipment, thereby removing guesswork in establishing a finished gradeand transverse slope.

In the past when preparing an earth pad or subgrade it has been thecustom to first rough grade with a scraper or other earth movingequipment to bring the surface within close range of the finished gradedesired and to then make several passes with surface planing or gradingequipment capable of relatively fine adjustment. Such a subgrade or padcould only be at best a rough approximation of the desired grade andslope and was usually obtained either by the sighting of an experiencedoperator or an observer. Such operations are both costly and inadequatefor certain purposes such as preparing pads for installation ofirrigation ditches where the finished grade is extremely critical forthe proper water flow, and other installations Where it may be necessaryto obtain absolutely level or precisely graded surfaces within very finetolerances.

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide animproved surface finishing machine or grader which is capable ofsimultaneously accomplishing finished grading by selective distributionand spreading or wasting of material and which is controlled for precisegrade and transverse slope of the surface being prepared.

3,490,539 Patented Jan. 20, 1970 Another object of the present inventionis to provide a surface finishing machine of the character describedoperable by a single operator which is capable of preparing a surface ina single pass by simultaneous rough and fine grading.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a surfacefinishing machine of the character described wherein the distributingand wasting of excess material is accomplished selectively at the willof the operator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an earth finishingmachine of the character described wherein the opposite sides of thetool are independently controlled to obtain precise transverse slope andgrade control.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following specification and claims and from the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the overall device;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective showing the relationship between thevehicle main frame and the earth finishing apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the earth finishing apparatus; 3 FIG. 4 is aside elevation of the device shown in FIG.

; and

FIG. 5 is a partial cross Section taken along lines 55 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional roadgrader having steerable front wheels 1, drive wheels 2 and an archedvehicle main frame 3 which provides the support for the tool assemblyindicated generally at 4. It will be understood of course that themachine includes a prime mover and an hydraulic pressure system all ofwhich is conventional to many types of road grading apparatus. Thegrader. including the main frame. support wheels, cab and controls forthe vehicle may be of any standard well known design.

Referring to FIG. 2, the vehicle main frame 3 is in the form of an archwhich overlies and provides a vertical support for the tool assembly 4as will be presently described. The steerable wheels 1 provide theground support for the forward end of the main frame, all of which isconventional in the prior art. Carried beneath the main frame 3 andconnected thereto at its forward end by a universal joint 5 is a draftbar 6 which, in this case, is bifurcated, having the legs 7 and 8connected by the cross bar 9 at the rear end. The legs 7 and 8 and thecross bar 9 serve to support a conventional internally geared circle 10which enables the tool attached thereto to be rotated about a verticalaxis if desired. The circle 10 is conventional with road graders and issupported from the members 7 and 8 and the cross bar 9 by means of shoes11 and 12 carried on the cross beam 9 and usually a shoe (not shown)carried by the plate 13 located between the legs 7 and 8 of the draftbar, As is conventional, the shoes 11 and 12 include pinion gears inmesh with the internal gear teeth of. the circle 10 and the circle isrotated about the vertical axis by means of a drive pinion 14 which maybe driven by the worm 15 through a universally connected drive shaft 16shown in FIG. 3.

The rear portion of the circle 10 is provided with downwardly directedbrackets or arms 17 and 18 to which is pivoted the transverse beam 19welded or otherwise connected to a coventional curved scraper blade 20.Each end of the blade 20 is provided with a side panel 21 which may bewelded or otherwise fixed thereto. The panels 21 and the blade 20 form abox in effect which is open at the forward end. The upper front portionsof the panels 21 are connected by a second transverse beam 22 which isin turn suspended from the circle 10 by means of the hydraulic cylinder23 as illustrated in FIG. 5. The cylinder 23 may be a conventionaldouble acting hydraulic cylinder which enables the entire tool assemblyto be pivoted about the pivot pins 24 on the brackets 17 and 18.

The blade 20 accomplishes the finished planing while a second blade 25,located forward of the blade 20 and extending between the side blades21, provides a rough grading means. The blade may be in fixed positionwith respect to the panels 21 or may be vertically adjustable.

It may be seen from the structure thus far described that the entiretool assembly depends upon the circle 10 for verical support which inturn depends from the draft bars 7 and 8 by means of the shoes 11 and12. The entire draw bar assembly is vertically supported by means of thetransverse beam 26 mounted on the vehicle main frame 3. The beam 26 maybe pivotally mounted for movement about the vertical piot pin 27 tobetter accommodate rotation of the circle 10 if desired. The beam 26 maybe held stationary in any position of rotation about the pin 27 by adouble acting ram 260 connected between the beam and the frame 3 asillustrated in FIG. 2. The beam 26 is connected to the tool assembly bymeans of the hydraulic rams 28 and 29 attached to the ends of the beam26 and connected adjacent the opposite ends of the rear blade 20. Therams 28 and 29 have their cylinders connected to the beam 26 by means ofuniversals 30 and the piston rods are conneced to the ends of theransverse beam 19 by means of the universals 31. The opposite ends ofthe blades 20 and 25 may be inde pendently raised and lowered by virtueof the universal pivotal connection 5 at the forward end of the drawbars 6. An important feature of the present invention is the feature ofbeing able to directly control each end of the blade means independentlyfor vertical elevation.

Mounted directly in front and slightly above the blade 20 is a helicalauger 32 with its shaft 33 journaled at one end in one of the sideplates 21, as shown in FIG. 4, and the opposite end journaled forrotation by the bracket 34 positioned in an opening 35 in the otherplate 21, as shown in FIG. 2. The auger 32 is driven by means of thechain drive 36 which passes about a drive pinion 37 on the shaft 33 anda drive gear 38 on the drive shaft 39 of a reversible rotary hydraulicmotor 40. Thus the auger 32 may be driven in either direction todistribute excess material evenly in front of the blade 20 as thevehicle advances. In order to remove or waste excess material, theopening 35 is provided with closure means, such as a slide gate 41,which may be selectively operated by the double acting hydrauliccylinder 42 at the will of the operator. FIG. 2 shows the gate 41 in itsopen position to enable material to be wasted out of one side of the boxby the auger. It will also be noted that the plate 21 which mounts thegate 41, as shown in FIG. 2, may may be provided with a curved rearportion 43 for pushing the removal material clear of the side of the boxas the machine advances.

A second auger 43 is mounted forward of the front blade 25 and has itsshaft 44 journaled for rotation in the side plates 21. The auger 43 isdriven by means of the chain 45 trained about the drive pinion 46 and adrive gear 47 on the drive shaft 48 of a second reversible rotaryhydraulic motor 49. Thus the two angers 32 and 43 are independentlycontrolled and each one is reversible in its direction of rotation tomove excess dirt from one side to the other of the box in order toevenly distribute excess mtaerial transversely within the box. It ispreferable to have the forward auger 43 of a greater diameter in orderto quickly distribute the excess material from one side to the other ifnecessary before the material flows rearwardly to the auger 32.

The control means for preparing a surface to a predetermined grade andtransverse slope involves two sensing and control units. The first unitsenses a predetermined grade datum and controls one side of the blade20, through the ram 28, and a second unit senses the transverse slope ofthe blade 20 and controls the opposite end thereof, through the ram 29,to maintain a constant slop on the blade. A datum wire or grade wire 50is first set to represent the finished grade for the pad. A signal isproduced by a grade sensing unit 51 mounted on the vertical post 52carried by an outrigger 53 fixed to the brackets 54 extending upwardlyfrom the beam 19 as illustrated most clearly in FIG. 2. The sensing unit51 has a sensing element 55 which rides on top of the wire 50 in orderto reflect the grade information. The grade sensing unit 51 may be anyknown prior art device, the operation of which is well understood bythose skilled in the art, and which functions to create a signal so asto control the hydraulic circuit for operating the ram 28. The right endof the blade 20 as viewed in FIG. 2 is in this manner held at the propergrade elevation and this elevation is adjusted as the grade datum Wire50 dictates.

In order to maintain the blade 20 in either a level position or at agiven constant transverse slope, a slope sensing unit 56, which may beof the dampened pendulum type, is mounted on the transverse beam 22. Theunit functions to produce a signal which controls the hydraulic circuitto operate the ram 29 and thus maintain the transverse beam 22 andconsequently the blade 20 at a constant slope or in the level positionas desired. The details and operation of the unit 56 form no part of thepresent invention and any known prior art unit which is capable ofperforming the function is sufficient. Thus the right hand end of theblade 20 is kept at the proper elevation while the left hand end of theblade is raised and lowered by the ram 29 to maintain a constant slopeor level attitude of the blade regardless of the elevation.

In practice, a surface to he finished graded is first cleared byconventional earth moving equipment if necessary and the grade wire 50set at the proper grade by means of grade stakes to provide the datumfrom which the finished grade is to be taken. It is then merelynecessary to use the surface grading equipment of the present inventionwhich simultaneously provides rough and fine grading of the finishedsurface according to the grade controlled by the sensing unit 51 and thetransverse slope controlled by the sensing unit 56. The augers 32 and 43may be operated independently when desired by the operator so as to keepan even distribution of the excess material within the box as themachine advances. The quantity of excess material carried within the boxmay be controlled by selectively opening the slide gate 41 anddischarging material when necessary. The waste material is then pushedto the side by the curved portion 43 of the blade 21. If desired, thetransverse angle at which the blade is carried in a horizontal plane maybe adjusted by rotating the circle 10 to pivot the entire tool assemblyabout a vertical axis.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A surface preparation and grading machine comprising: a main frameand mobile means supporting said frame at the front and rear endsthereof, a generally transverse surface planing blade, vertical panelmembers connected to the opposite ends of said blade and extendingforwardly, said blade and said panels forming an open front boxstructure, means to support said box structure from said main frame, anauger disposed forwardly of said blade and journaled for rotationbetween said panels, selectively operable reversible drive means forsaid auger, a discharge opening on one of said panels near one end ofthe auger, closure means for said discharge opening, and means toselectively open and close said closure means to selectively wasteexcess material from said box structure.

2. The device according to claim 1 including; a second planing bladeextending between said panel members forward of said first planingblade, said second blade being so formed as to allow free flow ofmaterial thereover toward said first blade, 3. second auger disposedforwardly of said second blade and journaled for rotation by saidpanels, and selectively operable reversible drive means for said secondauger.

3. The device according to claim 1 wherein said means to support saidbox structure comprises; draft bar means connected for universalpivoting at its forward end to the front end of said main frame, atransverse support beam carried on said main frame, means connectingsaid box structure to said draft bar means and first and secondextensible rams connected between the respective ends of said supportbeam and said blade, whereby the opposite ends of said blade and saidbox structure may be independently adjusted for elevation.

4. The device according to claim 3 including first sensing and controlmeans for sensing a preset grade datum and controlling one of saidextensible rams and a second sensing and control means for sensing thetransverse slope of said blade and controlling said second ram tomaintain a preset transverse slope.

5. The device according to claim 4 wherein said means connecting saidbox structure to said draft bar means comprises; a rotatable ring, meansto rotate said ring about a vertical axis on said draft bar means, atransverse cross beam connected between the forward ends of said sideplates, means pivotally connecting said blade to said ring for rotationabout a horizontal axis and extensible ram means connected between saidring and the mid portion of said cross beam.

6. The device according to claim 5 wherein said transverse support beamis mounted for rotation about a vertical axis on said main frame.

7. The device according to claim 1 including control means forvertically adjusting the opposite ends of said box structureindependently responsive to a predetermined grade and transverse slopedatum.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein said closure means is aslidable gate.

9. In combination, a main frame movably supported to follow the groundsurface, an open-front box assembly, a planing blade carried rigidlysecured to and forming a part of said box assembly, means suspendingsaid box assembly from said main frame, such suspending means includingfirst hydraulically powered means for vertically adjusting one side ofsaid box assembly relative to said main frame, second hydraulicallypowered means for vertically adjusting the opposite side of said boxassembly relative to said main frame, reversible rear auger meanscarried in said box assembly forward of said planing blade fortransversely distributing material therein, reversible forward augermeans spaced forward of said rear auger means, means for driving saidrear auger means means for driving said forward auger meansindependently of the drive means for said rear auger means, grade datumreference means at only one side of said main frame and establishing apredetermined grade datum generally independently of the grade of theground surface, first control means including grade variation sensingmeans fixed relative to said planing blade for sensing the variation inheight of said grade datum reference means above said ground surface andmeans for actuating said first hydraulically powered means in responseto a variation detected by said grade variation sensing means, andsecond control means including slope sensing means fixed relative tosaid planing blade and means for actuating said second hydraulicallypowered means in response to a variation in slope detected by said slopesensing means for adjusting and maintaining the transverse slope of saidblade at a predetermined slope.

10. The combination defined by claim 9, wherein said grade variationsensing means is located substantially laterally of said planing blade.

11. The combination defined by claim 10, wherein said grade datumreference means is of a single Wire type.

12. The combination defined by claim 9, wherein said slope sensing meansincludes pendulum means for sensing transverse slope variations.

13. The apparatus defined by claim 9, further including a front bladesecured to said box assembly and having an upper edge of substantiallylesser height than the diameter of said forward auger means to permitmaterial flow thereover toward said planing blade.

14. In combination, a main frame movably supported to follow the groundsurface, an open-front box assembly, a planing blade carried by said boxassembly, means to support said box assembly from said main frame,reversible rear auger means carried in said box assembly forward of saidplaning blade for transversely distributing material therein, gradedatum reference means establishing a predetermined grade datum generallyindependently of the grade of the ground surface, first control meansfor vertically adjusting said planing blade relative to the groundsurface in response to a variation in height between said grade datumreference means and the ground surface, second control means foradjusting and maintaining the transverse slope of said blade at apredetermined slope in response to changes in the height of said planingblade, reversible forward auger means located forwardly of said rearauger means to transversely distribute material in either direction, asecond blade between said forward and rear auger means and ofsubstantially lesser height than the diameter of said forward augermeans so as to allow flow of material thereover toward said planingblade.

15. A surface preparation and grading apparatus designed to pass over anunfinished surface and leave a finished surface having a precisetransverse slope and a precise grade relative to preset grade datummeans disposed laterally of the path of travel of the apparatus, saidapparatus comprising: a main frame movably supported by front wheelmeans engaging the unfinished surface and rear Wheel means engaging thefinished surface; a surface engaging, open front box structureadjustably sup ported by said main frame, said box structure including aside discharge opening and selectively operable gate means toselectively discharge accumulated surface ma terial from said boxstructure; planing blade means forming a rear part of said box structureand reversible auger means carried in said box structure fortransversely distributing surface material therein; slope control meanscarried by said main frame for adjusting and maintaining the slopeattitude of said planing blade and consequently the slope of thefinished surface at a desired transverse slope independently of thegrade thereof; and grade control means sensing the location of andresponsive to said preset grade datum means for automaticallymaintaining the grade attitude of said planing blade.

16. A surface finishing assembly adapted for use on a grading machine orthe like having a wheel-supported main frame carrying an open-front boxstructure having a planing blade secured to a rear portion thereof,reversible rear auger means carried in said box structure forwardly ofsaid planing blade, reversible forward auger means spaced forward ofsaid rear auger means, means for driving said forward auger meansindependently of the drive for said rear auger means, grade controlmeans adapted for suspending said box structure from said main frame andadjusting the vertical height of an end of said planing blade inresponse to variations in a predetermined grade datum reference, andslope control means adapted for suspending said box structure from saidmain frame and adjusting the vertical height of the opposite end of saidplaning blade for maintaining said planning blade in a predeterminedtransverse slope, said slope control means including a slope sensingunit mounted in fixed relation to the said planing blade.

17. The assembly of claim 16, wherein said slope sensing unit is mountedin fixed relation to said box structure substantially near-centerthereof, considered laterally of the direction of travel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Rich.

Gardner et al 37108 Bowen et a1. 37108 Colee.

Fisher 172-4.5 10 Bell 37108 Thomas 172-4.5

8 3,346,976 10/1967 Curlett et a1 172-45 2,873,541 2/1959 Eliason 371D8FOREIGN PATENTS 641,387 5/1962 Canada.

ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner E. H. EICKHOLT, Assistant ExaminerUS. Cl. X.R.

